RPS

One of the things that excites me as a Regional Liaison Pharmacist for RPS is seeing examples of how local primary care professionals are coming together to discuss good patient care, provided by the right practitioner, close to home. So it was fantastic to see clear recognition of the key roles pharmacists play Read more Primary care networks: getting started ›

By Dr Amanda Thompsell, Chair of the Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Having met with members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to talk about their mental health campaign it made me reflect on the many ways that pharmacists support older people with mental health issues.

The Hanbury Botanical Garden is situated on the La Mortola promontory overlooking the Mediterranean. A glance at TripAdvisor tells us that it is ‘spectacular,’ ‘a real gem,’ and ‘a beautiful, calm place with stunning views.’

Recently I wrote a blog about LGBTQ Pride celebrations describing how upset I was that LGBTQ young people were still suffering high levels of abuse, discrimination and mental health issues as a result of their identity. I promised to reflect on what more the RPS could do to support pharmacists to help young LGBTQ people and we are exploring how our future RPS campaigns can deliver this. Read more Creating a profession where you feel comfortable to be yourselves ›

What’s happening behind the scenes? As a pharmacy student it is very difficult to understand and know what is being done for us outside the four walls of our university. My week at RPS demonstrated to me how much support there is available after we graduate but also during our studies. Fortunately, I was able to spend some time within the marketing team and I got to see it all.

From just about knowing how to use Google calendar to now being able to structure, format and schedule social media posts, my time at RPS has enabled me to develop a wide range of my skill sets. In the RPS, opportunities are always knocking on your door. I was given the opportunity to write an email to students in Birmingham. Having had no previous experience in writing emails to such a large number of recipients, I was taught the do’s and don’ts and how to template my email. Within the marketing team, I also got to witness the amount of hard work which goes into planning and preparing for anything to be sent out to the public and making sure that whatever is being sent out is for the correct audience with the most useful information. Before anything is sent to the public it is prepared and checked way in advance. The FIP World Congress next year is being held in Glasgow and is being hosted by the RPS. Even though the event is over a year away, a tremendous amount of work is currently being done to make sure the event is the best. Having also got the chance to sit in on a meeting, I saw how the RPS have and are still developing programmes to help pharmacy students from their first day till their last and beyond that as well. When we’ve just finished our pre-reg year or we’re over 10 years into our career it is comforting to know that the RPS will be there to support and guide us if we need them. It was also great to see how the RPS are always highlighting the importance of pharmacists in the community and are continuously changing themselves to make our journeys easier.

Research is a young person’s game, an academic career pathway, something that doesn’t apply to me – to me, a middle-aged pharmacy professional with a background in community pharmacy support. So it was with some trepidation that I found myself booked into the NHS Research and Development (R&D) Forum Conference in Manchester, May 15-16 2017: not only booked in as a delegate but with a poster presentation and an RPS stand to man. So how did this come about?

Community pharmacists have historically been the most accessible healthcare professionals and have successfully taken part in many public health campaigns, such as stop smoking services. In recent years the role of the pharmacist has become more diverse with pharmacists offering more services, such as flu vaccinations. Patients are looking for convenience and accessibility and pharmacists often meet these needs by providing services in the evenings and at weekends. In an article by Anderson and Thornley (2012), the authors discuss the reasons why patients, who are entitled to free NHS flu vaccinations, are prepared to pay for vaccinations because the service is more easily accessible in pharmacies. Read more How pharmacy can raise public awareness of health issues ›

Pharmacist Paul Bennett has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Paul will take up his post at the beginning of July 2017.

Paul joins the RPS from his position as Chief Officer of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Pharmaceutical Committee. Prior to this, Paul was Professional Standards Director and Superintendent Pharmacist at Boots UK and brings a wealth of professional and commercial experience gained from both national and local pharmacy organisations alongside strong leadership credentials from business and from close working with NHS Commissioners of service and others. Read more Royal Pharmaceutical Society appoints new Chief Executive ›

I was delighted to hear just before Christmas that I was successful with an NIHR fellowship application and want to encourage more pharmacists to apply for funding and to lead research.

I have been a paediatric clinical trials pharmacist for most of the past 10 years, so am lucky to already be closely engaged in research work and have an understanding of how research can really impact day to day practice.
I applied for NIHR funding 2 years ago but I wasn’t successful. This time, I decided to apply again with a different topic. My research question came from a common query that kept coming through to the pharmacy department; what dose of Vitamin D is appropriate in children? Read more How to get an NIHR research fellowship ›

Posts navigation

About the RPS blog

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is the dedicated professional body for pharmacists and pharmacy in England, Scotland and Wales.

Our blogs are written by experts and provide thought provoking information and commentary on health, health policy issues and lifestyle choices. Here you will find opinions and comments on topics related to public health and medicine safety.

We work with a variety of health, charity and business partners to help us highlight particular health issues and run successful health campaigns. We will be inviting guest bloggers from these organisations to help us create interesting, varied and engaging public content.